Population grows in South Florida, Census Bureau says

Birth rate and international moves offset losses, census data show

The population in Broward and Palm Beach counties is growing again, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

While the growth is not what it was earlier in the decade, the increase shows a slight reversal of the stagnation and losses that marked recent years.

"It means population is stabilizing," said Dick Ogburn of the South Florida Regional Planning Council in Hollywood "We're not losing people because of the economic slowdown. The economy is not getting worse, but unemployment continues to be high."

Census estimates show that Broward gained 13,214 residents over the year that ended July 1, 2009, while Palm Beach County grew by 10,205 during the same period. The growth for each county was less than 1 percent.

Miami-Dade County increased its population by nearly 22,000 — the result of immigration from outside the United States. Both Miami-Dade and Broward continue to lose population to other places within the United States, but the loss of residents, particularly in Broward, has been offset by more births than deaths and by international migration.

Brad Hunter of Metrostudy in Palm Beach Gardens said the population growth is a "good sign that is not unexpected, with the price of homes coming down."

The population boom of the early 2000s in South Florida helped drive up home prices and values, eventually leading to the housing market crash, Hunter said.

"The population increase is going to improve the number of jobs in South Florida," he said. "Each one helps the other."

Broward's population has come back to 2005 levels, its peak, Ogburn said. Before 2005, Broward was among the fastest-growing counties in the nation. But for the past two years, more people left than moved here, and even with more births than deaths, the population declined.

Ogburn noted that in the late 1980s the number of deaths outpaced births in Broward, but that began to change in the 1990s. Throughout the past decade, he said, "Broward has had significant natural growth."

While there are a lot of dynamics that affect the population in South Florida, international growth plays a major role—particularly in Miami-Dade and Broward, and to a lesser degree in Palm Beach County.

More than 328,700 immigrants from outside the United States moved to Miami-Dade in the past year, while more than 305,600 already living there moved to other parts of Florida and the United States.

Broward didn't attract as many foreigners, slightly more than 128,300, while losing more than 52,300 residents to other counties in Florida or to other states.

That's contrary to what has happened in Palm Beach County over the past year. The county gained nearly 65,000 new international residents, while nearly 71,000 domestic immigrants found new homes in Palm Beach County.

The Census Bureau estimates the state population at 18,537,969, up 114,091 from the previous year. In 2000, 15,982,839 people called Florida home.